Kevin Walker

Close to home with room to grow.

Current position: Innovation and growth analyst at Best Buy in Richfield

Degrees: Professional strategic communications with a minor in business management, University of Minnesota–Twin Cities/Carlson School of Management, 2013

Turned down: All the state schools. I applied to Loyola. I decided not to go there. That’s $40,000 back in my pocket for each year.

Why he stayed for college: It was close to home, but it wasn’t too close to home. The school is so big—I need a lot of room to move and grow. And lastly, the tuition was perfectly priced, and the education is really good.

On toying with leaving: It would have been fantastic and an adventure, but at the same time I would have been uprooting myself probably in one of the most changeful times in my life, and I didn’t want to take that risk, as much as I thought exploration would be great and fun.

Why he stayed for work: There’s a ton of high-level jobs available here. The living community and culture are absolutely vibrant. I’m heavily invested in the tech start-up community, and we have an incredible tech community here in the Twin Cities with a lot of tech business opportunities. Because that exists, I knew there were going to be a lot of great start-ups and that I’d be interested in helping to support.

What’s next: I’m looking to excel here at Best Buy and help push the company forward. I plan to stay in business development and growth field.